An Oracle Of Things To Come?
Oracle’s better-than-expected earnings
results is welcome
news to technology investors who have watched the Nasdaq decline for the past
seven consecutive sessions. But perhaps even more encouraging is Oracle’s
prediction of increasing sales of its existing “11i” products in the
short-term and high expectations new products will have on next year’s bottom
line. The news is resonating as a potential oracle for a turnaround later this
year for the battered tech sector.
The Nasdaq is up 31.16 at 2019.79, the Dow is up 11 at
10,657, and the S&P 500 is up 9.65 at 1218.08.
Software stocks on the Nasdaq 100
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NDX |
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the biggest lift from the positive Oracle news, leading the NDX. Siebel Systems
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CHKP |
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46.13, and Mercury Interactive
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Securities broker/dealers
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back into the session’s early gains. The XBD is now the second leading sector, up 3.02% after Lehman Bros.
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beat the Street and Goldman Sachs
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the best gainer on the session, up 8.84%, followed by Morgan Stanley DW
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up 4.64%.
Internets
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higher.
Airlines
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-1.10% are the sessions weakest sectors.
Dell Computers
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DELL |
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its own shares in a botched scheme to compensate employees. Dell is up 2.26 at
24.46.
In the economy, housing starts declined less than
expected, suggesting that the constructing market is doing better than the
industrial sector of the economy.
Keep an eye out for sectors gaining fresh momentum. The Internet E-commerce group, an industry segment that has jumped from the
bottom 5% of industry groups to the top 5% since the beginning of the year, has
several stocks that are have accelerated in momentum. One of them is Getty
Images
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GETY |
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sold to advertisers, broadcasters, and creative types. Demonstrating its recent
momentum, GETY has a three-month RS from TM’s Stock
Scanner of 90 while its six and 12-month RS readings are just in the
40s. The stock has doubled in just over two months and is up today after a
six-day pullback from a five-month high. Yesterday, GETY came within one point
of tagging the confluence of its 50-day MA and 38.2% April-June retracement, a convenient
place for institutional support, and is up 1.15 today at 27.59.